Lots of kids, lots of fun! As usual, Alex and Maya would have stayed upstairs all day playing air hockey. This year Ben's Grandpa came over too which was really nice. All the little girls are getting so big! Grandma Nancy outdid herself this year by sewing, knitting and crocheting like crazy!
As usual, everyone had a great time at Grandma Ruth's for the Christmas Eve party! All the kids did a good job being patient and playing. We still all fit (barely) in the living room. And of course all the food was wonderful.
Despite being safe earlier in the month, the lake is no longer frozen solid. So instead of taking off from the dock and heading straight across the lake to snowshoe, we had to take a little stroll on the road down to a neighbor's land that meets up with the land we wander on. It was a great day for a hike, maybe even a little too warm!
Our drive over Thursday afternoon/night was mostly uneventful. Some weird freezing rain in spots but the roads never seemed slippery. The kids were champs like usual and we only stopped once in Escanaba for dinner.
One advantage of staying up until 3am Monday night/Tuesday morning to watch the lunar eclipse (in addition of course to seeing the lunar eclipse!) was that I finished these arm/hand warmers I started last week. Perfect for knitting and typing in our chilly basement! I used a super soft organic cotton yarn that feels great.
I love mornings like this - the sun rises on the front side of the house and we could see the yellow glow starting while we ate breakfast. But out the back windown/doors we could still see the gorgeous, big bright moon behind the trees!
We ate dinner by candlelight last night. Thinking about what it was life when everyone was forced to live closer to the rhythms of the earth without electricity as an option. Fluffy, sparkling white snow was falling outside. We went to the UU Solstice celebration at 6pm. It was so beautiful and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. We saw many friends there, school friends, old friends....
